Article sorting device



C. F. ANDERSON ARTICLE SORTING DEVICE Feb. 26', 1952 S Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 26, 1948 m w p A m M M Feb. 26, 1952 c. F. ANDERSON 2,587,272

ARTICLE SORTINGIDEVICE Filed April 26, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQGQQGQOQBGQ OQOQQQQQQQQOQ QQGOGOQQGQGOGQQGQ amen M 2M MP/WM Feb. 26 1952 c, E N 2,587,272

ARTICLE SORTING DEVICE Filed April 26, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 g 01/7/5155 27/V05/P50/V,

3% flo r-Wu Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTICLE SORTING DEVICE Charles F. Anderson, Decorah, Iowa Application April 26, 1948, Serial No. 23,282

Claims. (01. 209-291 This invention relates to devices for separating solid articles according to sizes and is especially useful for sorting a mixture of coins into the various denominations or a mixture of such articles as tokens, ball bearings, buttons .etc.

An object of this invention is the provision of such a device which is efficient in operation and of simple design.

Another object of this invention is the provision of such a device which employs a small number of working parts and parts which are not likely to get out of order or need frequent repair or replacement.

These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description considered together with the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment in which: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a section along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the embodiment along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing in which like numbers designate similar parts, the embodiment illustrated comprises a frame structure having a base member H which supports upright members l2 and I3.

Between the upright members there is rotatably mounted the sorting wheel l4 which comprises a plurality of horizontal cylindrical spirals 22, 23, 24and 25, mounted on and between two vertical end plates l5 and 16. The end plate I6 is provided with a central opening I! through which articles to be sorted are fed into the innermost spiral 22 by means of a vertical chute 18 secured to the upright l3 between said upright and the end plate [6. The lower end 19 of the chute projects part way into the spiral. The upper end of the chute is attached to the outlet 20 of a tray or pan 2| secured to the uprights above the sorting wheel.

The sorting wheel may comprise a plurality of such cylindrical spirals or just one spiral or any other number depending upon the number of different sized articles to be sorted. The end plates [5 and I 6 are secured to a horizontal shaft 26 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 26A and 26B in said uprights l2 and I3 respectively. The plate I5 is secured to the shaft by means of an offset spidel 21 to permit disposition of the lower end IQ of the chute through the aperture I 'l. i

The shaft 26 passes through an aperture 28 at the lower end of the chute and is provided with a crank arm 29 and handle 30 for manually rotating it. However, any other suitable means for rotating the shaft may be employed, such as an electric motor of the reversible type (not shown).

Between the ends of each cylindrical spiral there is secured an angular bafiie strip 3|, 32, 33 and 34, respectively. These baflle strips are disposed with suificient angularity so that when the shaft 25 is rotated, say clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 3 they will, on contact with articles lying on the spirals, act as one way abutment means and urge the articles toward the plate 15. When rotated in the opposite direction the bafile strips are ineffective for this purpose, but are effective in increasing the efficiency of the device by acting as a weir or one way ramping means leading to a drop over which the articles spill and become rearranged, thus insuring a complete separation.

Each cylindrical spiral is foraminated, the sizes of the apertures thereof being progressively smaller from the innermost spiral 22 to the outermost spiral 25, the specific sizes depending upon the size of the articles to be sorted. For example, to separate five denominations of coins, the innermost spiral 22 would have its perforations 35 of a size to permit the passage of, say, quarters, nickels, pennies and dimes, but not half dollars; the perforations 36 of the spiral 23 would be smaller to retain the quarters but not the nickels, pennies and dimes; the perforations 31 of spiral 24 still smaller to retain the nickels, but not the pennies and dimes, and the perforations 38 of the spiral 25 small enough to retain the pennies, but not the dimes.

Hence a complete separation of a mixture of coins according to denominations, or of other articles, may be made by placing the mixture in the tray 2| and letting it fall into the chute I8 while rotating the sorting wheel on the shaft 25.

After the separation is thus made the articles may be extracted endwise from the various spirals retaining them by reversing the direction of rotation of the cylinder, whereby the baffle strips urge the articles toward the end plate IE on their respective spirals. The end plate I5 is provided with a plurality of apertures 39, one for each s'piralthrough which the separated articles pass under the influence of the bafiles. A stationary face plate 40 is secured to the upright l2 against the outer face of the end plate 15, said face plate having also apertures 4| that register with-aper tures 39. The upper ends of chutes, 45, 46 and 41 are each in communication with one of the apertures in the end plate 15 also pass through the corresponding apertures of the face plate 40 and into the chutes 44, 45, 4B and 41 beneath which there are disposed receptacles 48, 49, 50 and respectively, to receive the articles discharged from each of said chutes, respectively. Articles falling through the outermost spiral are received directed by a receptacle 52 disposed immediately below it.

Said receptacles are removably disposed on the base H in any convenient manner. In the drawing, the receptacles 48, 49, 50 and 5| are of the drawer type and are slidably arranged in a row in a partial housing 53 upon which the upright l 2 is supported, the rearward ends thereof extending beyond the partial housing a short distance to the rear of the upright l2 so as to be exposed to the discharge ends of the chutes 44, 45, 46 and 41. The lower end of the face plate 39 is provided with a baflle 54 to guide any articles falling at this end from the outermost spiral 25 into the receptacle 52 and away from the other receptacles.

The receptacle 52 may also be of the drawer type operating through one of the sides of the device.

It is to be understood that any number of spirals may be employed, that is, either more than that shown in the drawin or less. For example, in separating coins or tokens from fare boxes of street cars and busses, or vending machines, etc., frequently only two or three denominations or sizes are involved. The number of spirals may, accordingly, be reduced to meet such specific situations. In case only two different sized articles are to be separated, only one spiral is necessary with one baffle strip. The number of spirals necessary in any particular case is always one less than the number of different sized articles to be separated.

I claim:

1. An article sorting device comprising a frame, a horizontal drum mounted on said frame for rotation and counter rotation, said drum comprising at least one foraminous cylindrical spiral secured to end plates, one of said plates having article outlet means, a baflle strip between the ends of said spiral, said strip being angularly disposed so as to urge articles on said spiral toward said outlet means when the drum is rotated in one of said directions.

2. An article sorting device comprising a frame,

a horizontal drum mounted on said frame for introducing into the drum, while it is rotating in one direction, articles to be sorted,-one of said plates having article outlet means, a baflle strip between the ends of said spiral, said strip being angularly disposed so as to urge articles on said spiral toward said outlet means when the drum is rotating in the other direction, a chute having its inlet end adjacent said outlet means, a receptacle at the outlet end of said chute and another receptacle beneath said drum.

3. An article sorting device comprising a frame, a horizontal drum mounted on said frame for rotation and counter rotation, said drum comprising a plurality of substantially concentric spiral peripheral walls secured to end plates, one of said plates having article outlet means for each of said spirals, and means to urge articles on said spiral peripheral walls toward said outlet means when the drum is rotated in one only of said directions.

4. An article sorting device comprising a drum mounted for rotation and counter rotation on a generally longitudinally extending axis, said drum being foraminous and comprising at least substantially one turn of generally spiral cross-section and a bafile strip interposed between contiguous generally radially spaced portions of said spiral drum, said baffle strip winding helically about said axis, whereby on rotation of the drum in the direction to move articles therein outwardly of its spiral cross-section, said articles abut against said baflle strip and are urged thereby toward one end of the drum, while on rotation of the drum in the opposite direction said articles cascade over and are not moved longitudinally of the drum by said Winding baflle strip.

5. An article sorting device comprising at least one drum mounted for rotation and counter rotation on a generally longitudinal axis, said drum being foraminous and having one-way ramping and one-way abutting means extending helically of its peripheral wall, said last-named means being arranged for ramping and cascading the articles generally peripherally of the drum during rotation of the drum in one direction, and for abutting and positively urging the articles longitudinally of the drum in the other direction only of rotation of the drum.

6. A device for separating articles according to size, comprising at least one drum mounted for rotation and counter rotation on a generally longitudinal axis, said drum having a foraminous outer wall provided with one-way abutment means extending helically thereof and effective for feeding articles longitudinally of the drum only in one direction of rotation of the drum.

'7. A device for separating articles accordin to size comprising at least one drum type seive mounted for rotation and counter rotation on a generally longitudinally extending axis, said sieve having a closure head at one of its ends with a discharge port therethrough, said sieve being formed with one-way acting helical abutment means effective on rotation of the sieve in one direction only to feed articles retained thereby toward and discharge them through said closure head.

8. A sorting device comprising a foraminous drum mounted for rotation and counter rotation and having an end opening and a closed longitudinally helical step in its peripheral surface, winding in a direction to abut against and urge material toward said end opening in one direction of rotation only of the drum.

9. A sorting device comprising a drum mounted for rotation and counter rotation and having an end opening and a foraminous peripheral surface, said surface being generally spiral in cross section and having a closed longitudinally helical step therein between the contiguous ends of its spiral cross-sections, said helical step winding in a direction to abut against and urge material toward said end opening in one direction of rotation onl of the drum.

10. A nested multi-drum sorting device for sorting articles according to size, comprising a plurality of spiral drums nested one within the other and mounted for rotation and counter rotation as a unit about a generally longitudinal axis, said spiral drums having end openings and having closed steps at their radially spaced contiguous ends, facing in the same direction of rotation, and winding in the same direction about said axis, said drums having their end openings in the ends thereof toward which said closed steps urge material in one direction of rotation of said drums,

and said drums having their spiral walls substantially spaced throughout their peripheral extents and having their steps spaced peripherally by distances approximately equal to the height of the steps so that substantially uniform clearance is afforded within the nested spirals notwithstanding relatively close nesting thereof.

CHARLES F. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Chase May 11, 1880 Mallon Sept. 19, 1882 Etzold Nov. 26, 1889 Cuplin Jan. 8, 1895 Abercrombie Oct. 25, 1898 Gray Jan. 15, 1901 Abbe -2 Nov. 10, 1903 Brewster Aug. 14, 1906 Fasting July 4, 1911 Hageman May 18, 1926 

